Hawkeyes Hit Midseason Stride, Eyeing Big Ten Supremacy
IOWA CITY - They weren’t supposed to be here. Not according to the preseason polls, anyway.
Neither the media nor the coaches had Iowa in their top five when the Big Ten women's basketball race began. But now, at the midpoint, the Hawkeyes are not just in the mix - they’re tied for first, sitting at 9-0 in conference play and 18-2 overall.
Call it a surprise if you want, but don’t use the word “overachieving” around associate head coach Jan Jensen.
“It’s a word I don’t like to use,” Jensen said during a Tuesday Zoom call. “Instead, I want to get everything we can out of what we can be. They have earned the good things that have come their way.”
And earned is the right word. Iowa has climbed steadily in the Associated Press poll, now up to No. 8 - their highest mark since the final rankings of the 2024 season.
This team isn’t catching fire by accident. They’re building something real, one win at a time.
The next test? A cross-country trip to Los Angeles to face USC on Thursday night.
On paper, it’s a matchup Iowa should handle - the Trojans are 11-9 overall, 3-6 in the Big Ten, and have dropped six of their last seven. But this game comes with layers.
For one, USC is still adjusting after losing All-American JuJu Watkins to a torn ACL during the 2025 NCAA Tournament - a brutal blow that’s reshaped their season. But don’t let the record fool you.
“Their record is completely misleading,” Jensen cautioned. “You see 3-6 and you think, ‘Oh, they must be down.’ But they’re really athletic.”
Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT at the Galen Center, and if Iowa handles business, they’ll set the stage for a first-place showdown Sunday at No. 2 UCLA - a marquee matchup with Big Ten title implications written all over it.
That’s a far cry from where most thought this team would be back in October. The consensus then was clear: UCLA was the favorite, followed by Maryland, Michigan, USC, and Ohio State in some order.
Iowa? Not in that conversation.
But the Hawkeyes have forced their way into it - and loudly. Over the past two weeks, they’ve done something no Iowa team has ever done before: knock off three straight top-15 opponents.
Michigan State. Maryland.
Ohio State. Three wins, three statements.
“In June, I liked what I was seeing,” Jensen said. “I felt that this team could have a little fun.”
Let’s just say they’ve had more than a little.
“They’ve answered every call,” she added. “The thing I like most, they’re for each other. When you’re for each other, that’s when the magic can happen.”
Of course, no season goes off without a hitch. Iowa took a tough blow this past Sunday when guard Taylor McCabe went down with a season-ending knee injury. That’s a hit to the rotation, no doubt - McCabe brought valuable depth and experience to the backcourt.
But the next-woman-up mentality is alive and well in Iowa City. Freshman Addie Deal, who grew up less than an hour from USC’s campus, will step into the starting lineup. She’ll join Chit-Chat Wright and Kylie Feuerbach in the backcourt, with Ava Heiden and Hannah Stuelke holding things down in the post.
“Addie’s ready,” Jensen said. “I think we’ll handle adversity. We’ve just got to get used to it.”
The bench rotation now leans on guard Taylor Stremlow, forward Journey Houston, and center Layla Hays - a group that’s going to be asked to provide meaningful minutes as the grind of the Big Ten season continues.
But if the first half of conference play has shown us anything, it’s that this Iowa team doesn’t back down. They didn’t flinch when the expectations were low.
They didn’t blink when the schedule got tough. And they’re not about to start now.
The Big Ten race is heating up. And the Hawkeyes? They’re right where they want to be - not as overachievers, but as contenders.